Finding a literary agent
From: jane.miller@[removed].com
Date: 15 Jun 1991
I've been following this discussion with interest. A lot of folks here seem to be hitting the same wall trying to locate a decent agent, so I figured I'd weigh in from the other side of the desk. I've been representing authors out of New York since the late eighties, mostly literary and upmarket commercial fiction along with some serious nonfiction, and the fundamentals really haven't changed much even with these new discussion lists floating around.
The reality is that almost nobody in my position is set up for email queries or faxed samples in 1991. We still do the bulk of our reading on paper. The single best way to get noticed is a clean, one-page query letter sent through the U.S. mail. Lead with a sharp hook that tells me why your book is different and why a reader would care. Then give a tight paragraph or two on the story or argument. Finish with two or three sentences on who you are and what you've published or what qualifies you to write this. That's it. No gimmicks, no glitter, no photos of your dog.
Always, always include a self-addressed stamped envelope with the correct postage. If you're sending sample pages along with the query (and you shouldn't unless the guidelines say it's okay), use a 9x12 envelope so the material comes back flat. Agents receive stacks of these every week. Without an SASE, your letter often gets set aside and forgotten. It isn't rudeness; it's volume.
From: robert.hayes@[removed].net
Date: 20 Jun 1991
Thanks for the input, Jane. I've been sending queries for six months with nothing but form letters. Do you have any sense of what percentage of queries actually get read?
From: jane.miller@[removed].com
Date: 28 Oct 1991
To the person who asked last week about resources for finding agents, the two books I still reach for most are the annual Writer's Market and the Literary Market Place. Writer's Market is usually out by early fall; the 1992 edition should be hitting shelves soon if it isn't already. It has a dedicated agents section with addresses, phone numbers, what they represent, and whether they accept unsolicited material. LMP is thicker and more expensive but many public libraries carry it. Both are updated every year, so don't use a five-year-old copy.
A couple of practical notes from experience. When you look up an agent, check recent sales if you can. Publishers Weekly still runs regular rights roundups, and you can sometimes piece together who sold what. Querying an agent who only does category romance with your 400-page literary novel about a 19th-century geologist is a waste of stamps.
Also pay attention to whether they belong to the Association of Authors' Representatives. It's a newer group but the members have agreed to certain standards, including no reading fees. That alone saves a lot of grief.
From: linda.patel@[removed].org
Date: 05 Nov 1991
Jane, your note about AAR was helpful. I just got a letter from an agent who wanted a $75 reading fee. I'm glad I checked here first.
From: jane.miller@[removed].com
Date: 14 Mar 1992
A few people in the last couple of messages asked for more detail on what actually makes a query get read instead of returned with a form letter. I'll try to be concrete since this keeps coming up.
Use decent 20-pound bond paper, white or cream, one side only. Type or print it cleanly. Your contact info at the top, the date, then the agent's name and full address (get it right; nothing signals carelessness faster than a misspelled name). Salutation to the individual agent if you possibly can. If the agency lists several people, call during business hours and ask the assistant which agent handles your type of book. They do this all day.
The letter itself should fit on one page. Opening sentence or two needs to make me want the next paragraph. For fiction that usually means a specific situation or character choice rather than "This is a sweeping epic about love and war." For nonfiction, tell me the hook and the audience right away. Follow with a short synopsis that demonstrates you can actually write, not just outline. Skip the adjectives like "heartwarming" or "gripping"; show it instead. Close with your relevant background. If this is your first novel, just say so. Honesty is better than padding.
From: tom.bennett@[removed].com
Date: 20 Mar 1992
Jane, one follow-up: how long is too long to wait before a follow-up letter? I sent something in January and haven't heard.
From: jane.miller@[removed].com
Date: 05 Sep 1992
Someone mentioned rejections in the last round of messages, so I thought I'd add what actually happens on our end after the query goes out.
Most queries get a form rejection. It doesn't mean the idea was terrible; it often just means it didn't stand out enough that day or the agent already had something similar. A personalized note, even a short one, is worth celebrating. It means your material made it past the first reader. Sometimes we'll even say why it didn't work for us or suggest another project. Take those notes seriously.
If you haven't heard after ten or twelve weeks, a brief follow-up letter or postcard is reasonable. Reference the title and the date you sent the query. Don't call the office. Most of us don't have the staff to field phone queries from people we haven't requested material from, and repeated calls can make an otherwise promising submission look high-maintenance.
Building some kind of track record before you query again helps a lot. Magazine credits, small-press publications, even contest wins all count. Several writers I signed last year had been publishing short fiction in literary journals for a few years. Those clips gave me confidence that they could deliver on a larger scale.
From: jane.miller@[removed].com
Date: 22 Jan 1993
I wanted to address something that's been floating around the edges of this discussion for months: the question of agents who charge fees. Please don't send money to anyone who asks for a reading fee, an evaluation fee, or an "editing" fee before they agree to represent you. Legitimate agents are paid by commission on what they sell, usually fifteen percent domestic. If they're asking you to pay them first, they are not selling books to publishers; they are selling services to writers. That's a different business.
Writers' conferences can be worth the time and money if they have legitimate agents on the faculty and you go prepared. Bring a one-page synopsis and be ready to talk about your book in two or three sentences. Don't expect to hand over a manuscript in the hallway. The value is usually in the conversations and the follow-up queries you can mention were requested at the conference.
If you've been querying for a while with no luck, consider whether the manuscript itself needs another pass. A good critique group or a freelance reader (not connected to any agent) can sometimes spot problems you can't see anymore. Just don't let that become an endless loop of revisions.
The writers who do well are the ones who keep the process professional, keep sending out clean queries with SASEs, and keep working on the next book. There's no secret handshake. It's still mostly persistence and good material.